Don't be afraid
by Insert a Catchy Penname Here
Summary: When a huge tropical storm hits The Shiba House, a certain Golden Ranger is too scared to be brave when he really needs to be.
1. Long night

Don't be afraid 1

Author Note: Hey, hey, hey! This is Pooffoop1 here, ready to write yet another story! This is not healthy for everything I need to finish/update, I do not care in all honesty. :D Well, this three shot story will not be all mine. notanormalpie decided she is helping me, and she DID inspire the idea. So, I guess it's ours! Enjoy!

Lighting lite up the dark gray sky, a bolt sparking down the belly of the clouds. Thunder yelled out, clouds moving with wind howling. Rain pelted down on the Shiba House roof, hail the size of quarters following it. Inside, the Rangers were pretty relaxed. The room was warm and cozy, and Mike was playing race cars with Kevin. And _that _was quite a show. Mia was watching them, chewing on popcorn with Wesley. Jayden was watching a movie with Emily curled beside him in her fuzzy socks, and Mentor was doing calligraphy.

"This is nice," Emily smiled, head on Jayden's chest.

"Very," the lightning struck near the grass, "hey…where's Antonio?"

"I don't know," Mia overheard, "guys, have you seen him anywhere?"

"Nope," Mike and Kevin were too absorbed in the game to doubt that.

"Me, either," Wesley sat the bowl of popcorn on her lap, "don't eat all the popped corn. I will go find him."

The Silver Ranger walked down the dimly lite hallway, peering into Antonio's room. "Antonio? You in here?"

He padded in, socks not making a noise. Thunder screamed, making the Ranger jump. Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a whimper. Raising an eyebrow, he got on his knees and lifted up the bed sheets that reached to the floor. There was the unmistakable form of the Golden Ranger was there, huddled in a ball.

When the lightning flashed against the pitch blackness, the oldest Samurai caught a glimse of the terror in his friend's face.

"Antonio?" the brown haired boy blinked, "what's wrong?"

"Let's just say the Light Samurai," the Light Samurai spoke, shivering, "prefers the light. Of, like, the sun."

"Are you scared or something?"

"Of course not!" his friend denied it quick, "Antonio Garcia is never scared!"

But when the thunder rang out, lightning lighting up the room yellow, Wesley saw his BFF yelp and cower, gripping his knees to his chest. His body trembled with emotion.

"I don't blame you," Wesley decided to save the teasing for later, "I mean, I used to be terrified of storms."

"Really?" the Mexican peered over his blue jeans.

"Yeah," the Darkness Ranger spoke the truth, "when a storm hit, I'd run under the bed and not come out. I didn't even dare look out until the storm was almost gone. But one day Jayden come under there with me and sat with me. We just talked until the storm was gentle. Then he took me into the rain, and I realized there was nothing to be afraid of."

"My dad tried to teach me it's okay," the terrified Ranger sighed, "but I just get so freaked out. Things will never change."

"Well, I'll stay with you," the Silver Ranger assured him.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure," he nodded, "let me just go get a lantern. It is dark in here!"

He rose and grabbed up a lantern.

"What's wrong with Antonio?" Jayden asked his friend in the hallway.

"He's scared of storms," Wesley replied, "reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, you know."

"I remember that well," the Red Ranger chuckled.

"I promised to stay with him,"

"You need some help?"

"Nah, Em gets a little frisky in the storms, too. You go cuddle with her, and I will stay with Toni in there,"

"Sure. But I'll just check up on him,"

"Whatever."

When they walked in the room, they discovered Antonio was with Emily under the bed. They were holding each other, trembling in fear. Shrugging, the Silver and Red Rangers got under there.

When the thunder screamed, lighting cracking loudly, wind yelling, Emily yelped and clung to Jayden. The Fire Samurai grinned, holding his girlfriend.

"There, there," he patted her curls.

Sadly, Antonio clung to Wesley's arm. Feeling pretty silly, he patted his friend's shaking back.

"There, there," he muttered.

It was going to be a _long _night.


	2. Flood Warning

Don't be afraid 2

Jayden sat up when he heard Ji's yelp. Emily noticed the shift of movement from her cling partner, looking up at him. Suddenly, Mentor came running in, lantern dangling from his stick.

"Rangers," he spoke, "grab anything that you cannot live without and come to the meeting room. It's flooding outside, and we must be swift to get to higher ground. And hurry!"

He was suddenly gone. Emily gulped, but the Fire Samurai kissed her and crawled out with her. She was back from her room in a flash with a small bag on her back, and he got her own his back. He carried her piggyback to the meeting room, her holding tight.

"Whoa," Wesley started out, "come on."

But the Mexican didn't budge.

"Hey, dude!" the Silver Ranger snapped his fingers in front of her BFF's face, "hello, Earth to Antonio! Toni!"

"I can't," the tan-skinned male shuddered, "I can't leave. I'm too scared."

"Antonio, don't be afraid," Wesley tried to get his friend to move, "we're going to be okay. But only if we get out of the flood's way."

But the Mexican was still, shivering.

"Come on, man," the Darkness Samurai took his hand, "you've got this. You're the Gold Ranger."

Sighing, he agreed, "Your right. Come on!"

The two grabbed up a couple of small bags, one each, and met the others in the meeting room. Emily was still on Jayden's back, and Mia was on Kevin's. Mike was trying to look brave, just like Jayden, but all of them were scared.

"Let's go," Mentor opened the door, "we will climb to the roof. From there we will go down to the trees and rush to higher ground."

"Got it," the Samurai agreed.

Carefully, they stepped out and climbed to the roof. As they walked, Antonio made the mistake of looking down. The water churned angrily, the lighting making it look evil. He gulped, and when the thunder yelled loudly, he screamed and slipped. He clung to siding, screaming for help.

"Toni!" Emily gasped, shaking Jayden hard.

The Red Ranger and Silver Ranger both rushed out, grabbing their BFF's wrists. They hefted him up, and they breathed heavily. Antonio was shaking hard, shivering, wet and cold.

"Come on, boys!" Mentor called. The other Rangers were already in the trees.

"Hey!" Emily protested.

"Boys and Em!"

"Come on, guys," Jayden carried Emily with him across into the trees.

"You heard the man, come on!" Wesley started to the trees, but quickly realized his friend wasn't coming.

"Toni, you've got to come," he tried to pull him up, "I don't want you to drown!"

But his friend was stolen. Groaning, the oldest Samurai pulled his friend on his back and carried him. When they were all on higher ground, watching the water churn, he put his friend on the grass.

"You can't freeze up on me!" he yelled angrily, "I mean, you could have died! That was just _wrong_!"

"Wesley!" Emily hissed, "you meanie!"

"I can't help it," he huffed.

"Well, look what you've done," she growled, sitting beside Antonio and holding him.

Only when the lightning flashed to he see the tears going down his face.

Author Note: This is notanormalpie saying I couldn't resiste! :D


	3. Lessons Learned

Don't be afraid 3

Author Note: I know, we wrote three chapters in one night. But we just got out of a HUGE tropic storm ourselves, so…yeah. INSPIRED!

Wesley felt horrible for what he'd done to his friend. Sure, he was a little old to be so scared of a storm. But it was mean to yell at him, who was just scared. He would have cried, too, if somebody yelled at him when he was scared. Even more so when it came to his stormaphobia.

He stared at the water, gray and dark, scary against the storm. It swirled around the hill, and he watched his friends. Mike was comforting Mia with Kevin, and Jayden was talking with Ji. His heart cracked a bit when he saw Emily with Antonio, trying her hardest to calm him down.

"Toni?" the Darkness Ranger came to the two youngest Rangers.

"Please don't yell at me again," the Mexican sniffed.

"I'm not," Wesley sat beside him, "I am a jerk and I am a horrible person."

"No, you were right," Antonio sniffed, "I need to grow up. But I've found it hard after that night to not be scared."

It came to him as a film in his mind as he told the tale.

_Antonio sat in his mother's lap in the car as the family joked around. He was five years old, curled in her arms. She was so beautiful and smart and caring….the rain pelted on the window, and he sighed as he started to fall asleep. Suddenly, a driver lost control of his car, not seeing through the rain._

_The two cars collided, and his mother jumped in front of her son. Antonio's scream was lost in the thunder as his mother was killed. _

"I'm so sorry, Toni," Wesley looked ashamed.

"It's okay," Antonio sighed, "I just don't want to lose anybody else in rain or anything else like that. But I've just always been so scared…"

His voice trailed off. Emily's eyes were full of pity as she rubbed circles in his back. Suddenly, a HUGE clap of thunder shook the hill, waves almost crashing on the hill top where they were. Emily screamed, clinging to Wesley's right. Antonio screamed as well, latching onto his friend. Both of them trembled, but the sobs didn't belong to Emily.

"Don't worry, guys," Wesley held them both, "it's going to be alright. It's just a little rain."

"I'll take her," Jayden took his girlfriend in his arms, smiling to his friend. Wesley grinned in thanks as the couple walked off, knowing this was his time to help Antonio shake off that fear like he'd been once done to.

"Don't be afraid, Toni," he put an arm around the Light Samurai, "it's going to be just fine. I know this is just going to be a memory by tomorrow."

"If there is a tomorrow," the Ranger wept, "I'm scared, Wesley."

"There's going to be a tomorrow," the Dark Samurai Ranger promised, "come on, let's talk about what we're going to do tomorrow."

"But…?"

"Focus,"

"Okay," the two talked, the storm seeming faint by the time they got in the conversation.

"Hey, look!" the Silver Ranger pointed to the clearing sky, "the storm is almost over."

"You're right," the Light Ranger looked at his friend, "I guess storms aren't so bad when your with friends."

"And that's the lesson I learned, too," Wesley smiled, "so are you good?"

"I'm good," he grinned, "golden. Thanks, man."

"No problem. It was Jayden who taught me, and so I decided to carry it on,"

"Good choice,"

"You soaked my shirt," the oldest Ranger grinned.

It was time for some good-ole Wesley teasing.

Author Note: Ha, ha. Oh, Wesley…Review, and you get a virtural hug! Authors Together, Writing Forever! :D


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